Pajero Sport or Fortuner AT? Does Rexton deserve a look?

This is a discussion on Pajero Sport or Fortuner AT? Does Rexton deserve a look? within SUVs, MUVs & 4x4s, part of the What Car? category; Hi!
Let me begin by saying none of the above are practical for my city! I live in Cuttack and ...

Hi!
Let me begin by saying none of the above are practical for my city! I live in Cuttack and people who have been here would know how narrow the streets are and how we learn to dodge the cycle rickshaws and two-wheelers here! But we do have the Ritz for city driving. Also, our cars barely run for 5-7k Kms a year.

This new car would replace our 8 year old honda City. For a long time now I've been wanting to get an Suv and have been drooling over the Fortuner ever since it was launched. This is going to be a heart decision.

Pajero Sport:

Styling-
I personally loved the subtle styling. It's to my taste. The interiors look decent and the stereo system although old style, looks better than the shiny after-market looking one on the Fortuner.

Drive-
Felt more comfortable than the short test drive I took on d 4speed automatic Fortuner. The steering could have been more responsive and it does lack low end power to drive inside the city.
The TD car had done about 15k Kms and the clutch was really hard. The SA said its because lots of customers want to take this car for an off-road TD(I doubt that would make the clutch so hard).

Worry-
I have been advised by a car dealer friend to stay away from this car only because of the terrible service support they give. He says if I take one look at their service station I would never want to buy this car. Also, service costs might be higher than the Fortuner.

FORTUNER:

Styling-
It's a looker although I don't like so much chrome. But The Missus loves it!😃

Drive & Comfort-
TD'd the 4 speed auto coz they don't have new TD vehicle. Good and drivable.
I also tried sitting in the middle row and could feel all the bumps at slow speeds. Would have really appreciated more under thigh support. The third row wasn't as bad as its made out to be especially with the middle row that can slide forward to free some more leg room at the rear.

Am i missing anything? Help!

1) AT transmission would be nice but manual isn't a deal breaker. If they had an auto 4wheel drive I would have definitely bought it.

2) Is there an inexpensive way to increase the low speed riding comfort on the Fortuner ?

3) Should I avoid the PS only on the basis of after sales uncertainty ?
Btw, the Sales guy insisted that bad after-sales is a thing of past because HM and Mitsubishi separated in December 2012. True?

4) If I do go for the Fortuner, should I get my own insurance coz Toyota protect is almost 30k more expensive. SA said that's because they offer cashless settlement.

M&M dealer is a friend and his stock of rexton is coming after a week. He wants me to check it out before deciding but I'm skeptical because it is an untried product. Should I wait?

First things first, what do you want out of this purchase? Are you looking for a full-on off-roading machine that can take you to places when the weather or terrain turns around you and decides to not be with you or are you looking at an SUV to suit all those out-of-town trips to hill-stations, highway runs and run on bad/no roads.

Honestly, a 4WD system is only required if and only if
- You intend to drive on snow.
- You intend to go off-roading which would justify the equipment like lockable diffs, low range gearbox, etc.

Bad/No roads require nothing more than a good GC and tough tyres, which the fortuner comes with in the 4x2 as well.

You should stay clear of 4WD cars if you don't have any use of it as it would just mean spending almost 1.5L extra with an additional gear-lever you wouldn't use, lugging around excess weight and in the Fortuner, with the power going to all 4 wheels at all times, dropping the fuel economy as well.

The ride of the fortuner on low speeds is bouncy, period. The ride is unsettling but its nothing you simply can't live without. It is a handsome brute, I still get heads turning around while I drive sometimes, even if it is common, it grabs eyeballs. The 3.0D4D is nothing short of a gem, it pulls beautifully well and the way this thing gathers speed post 100km/h for its gigantic size is highly impressive. And the ride does flatten out at higher speeds. Turbo-lag is almost non-existent and that is further helped by the torque low-down.

Whats more and the most important deciding factor in making our purchase for the replacement to our Innova against the Pajero Sport was the after sales service. Toyota's are bulletproof reliable, and the local A.S.S is simply superb and I have known many people over there through the years. Similar comments cannot be made for the Pajero Sport and the servicing and maintenance for that car remains a huge gamble as although it is a Jap, the current state of affairs of HM-Mitsubishi (I think they have split now, but still) is far from giving peace of mind to the customers.

I didn't get a test-drive in the Pajero but based on what reviews I have read, it has a better low-speed ride but the turbo-lag is more prominent. I felt the interiors are pretty dated and when we were negotiating the buy, it was still available as a CBU only so it came with a hefty price-tag as well. These things along with the A.S.S issue, a narrower cabin, slightly less equipment and the fact that the 4WD system was almost never going to be used helped us decide against the Pajero Sport.

These SUV's are slightly more utilitarian in nature, if you do not have requirement of the 7 seats and if your running isn't going to be much you can look at the luxury, more sort of urban petrol SUV's as the fuel prices are going to be almost the same within a year so don't completely rule out that option. The all-new Honda CRV (now locally produced) seems to be an interesting proposition.

About Toyota's insurance quote, just get a quote from your agent outside, tell them if they can match the same, then they have a deal. I'm sure they can work that out, or else even getting it done from outside isn't that bad at all. I'm not the right person to speak insurance stuff about, my father believes in no-claim bonus and we claim insurance only when its absolutely necessary.

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M&M dealer is a friend and his stock of rexton is coming after a week. He wants me to check it out before deciding but I'm skeptical because it is an untried product. Should I wait?

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Rexton is actually an ML270 under that skin. Complete from the chassis to the engine and the transmission. Its all MB. You should be TDing the top end Auto version. It has blown away quite a few hard core critics that I know of. It has blown away a fortuner 4X4 owner as well with its sheer torque and its smooth gearbox.

Even I never considered the Rexton a choice given its association with Mahindra and being Korean. But by the way of it blowing some very respected people in my knowing I am looking forward to TDing it very soon. It just might be what I have been waiting for in a long long time.

Also the quality of components and interiors is said to be above that of the fortuner. I will have to see it personally. But I think its finally time to leave behind the thinking that only well known brands can have good quality.

I think since you are not in any real hurry, you should definitely wait for the Rexton. It would have a much more comfortable ride compared to the Fortuner. And being friends with the M&M dealer should take care of any comprehensions that you might have for the brand.
Also if you don't really need that big a vehicle and the extra seats then do give a good look to the Duster and Yeti too. Both will be much more comfortable on highways and would still give you the needed GC to counter those bad roads.

The Rexton has been winning pretty rave reviews all around however, how the resale + A$$ will turn out to be in the future is still an unanswered question.

The Pajero Sport is also a very capable vehicle in it's own special ways but, A$$ will certainly be a pain. And after spending a quarter of a lakh, one would definitely wish to have his/ her grievances taklen care of.

I would urge you to have a TD of the 5-speed AT Fortuner and then take a decision. IMHO, out of all contenders, this will really age gracefully.

A$$, product quality/ refinement and brand value should definitely be one of the reasons for a buy unless, you are totally sold on either the Rexton (which comes a close second if, you ask me) OR partcularly the Sport.

A quick question - Any certain reason apart from the horror Skoda A$$ stories which made you drop the Yeti from the list?

I would suggest to TD the Storme. I know its a TATA, but the Storme has come out quite well (quality wise) leaving aside few glitches. The TATA ASSC is surely no where as near the TOYOTA regarding customer satisfaction, but the Storme would save you quite a few lakhs and you could use it in a more rugged manner. I meant to say, It would be very difficult to use a 20+ lakh car/suv in a true utilitarian way (at least for me) .

The storme has elegant interiors, supreme ride quality and that rugged factor/presence!!

Its not that the Pajero Sport is a bad vehicle or that the Rexton is not competent. Its that you have a thing for the fortuner.

And if you go and pick up any other vehicle, there will come a day when you would be in your brand new PS/Rexton/CRV/Yeti etc.. and you will see a fortuner on the road and your heart will curse you for not picking up a fortuner when you had a chance.

So think no further, the new 5 speed auto box is better and the beast looks as awesome as possible.

Hi Abhi, Oh to be in those shoes, I just bought a Fortuner in Jan and I know exactly how you feel. The deciding part is the most exciting, the most confusing and in the end the most rewarding. And good for variety in India at least now you know why you bought what you bought.

So Pajero sports, it is a decent vehicle and there is no doubt about it. Yet the price and the feature list is a bit uninspiring and you club in the whole HM mitsu relationship in the mix and whatever confidence you had in the car soon becomes a question. Moreover after you factor in the lag and the heavy steering at parking speeds or the narrow middle row and in the end you dont really get that much extra and it has a lot of chrome too my friend.

Now the Rexton, don't you wish if only this was made by Toyota or hell anyone other than Ssangyong by Mahindra and lo we had a winner on our hands straight up. I will admit after you see the top two Fortuner and the Pajero sports and then come to see the Rexton it plays with your head, the steering, the full sat nav equipped music system, the automatic adjusting seats and it also has a sunroof and then they tell you the price and it is a whole 4 to 5 laks cheaper than the Fortuner and even more than the Sports and you think Yes we have ourselves a winner. But and this is a big but it is when you take a drive and then notice the scary lag and the not so enthusiastic auto box it plants a seed of doubt. On the way home you start thinking with a clear head and then so many other questions seep in. Will Mahindra take care of this car. Will it be easy to maintain and what not and soon you decide this is so much money man, should I take the risk? and before you know it you are driving to the Toyota dealership because one way or another you know it was the Fortuner all along, you know the features, you know the reliability and after reading Manuj's thread you find out the operating cost of .68 paise a km which is cheaper than a Swift and you think, Wait you don't even think, you are ready.

Well that was how it happened for us, go for the Pearl White Mica metallic colour, it is new, if you decide on the Fortuner and if your driving is real less, try the Manual variant, it is less on price and will give better mileage too.

1) Rexton - if you need an AT with 4X4 and love the feature set it provides for better comfort both for the driver and the passengers. Service network reach is OK.- Best value for money overallwith great comfort but with a slight question at the back of your mind on the reliability. MT of course is even higher value for money yet with great comfort.
2) Fortuner - if you will sell of the vehicle within about 4 years and if absolute reliability is a must with no extra visits to the service center at all. - Max peace of mind and high resale value.
3) Pajero Sport - Reliable, Looks great but will depreciate much faster and the service options will be much lesser than with both Toyota and Mahindra. This is more a heart decision - will overall be more comfortable than the Fortuner.

in addition to the options you have listed, you could consider the newly launched albeit soft roader, Honda Crv, either the 2.0ltr or the 2.4, whichever works for you? here in our city seen a lot of new Rextons on the road, in fact saw a just delivered silver one, they are getting popular now.

One thing is for sure, the re-sale on the CRV and the Fortuner, would be much higher compared to the Rexton or the Pajero. Good luck with your pick.

Hey! Sorry haven't been able to update here. I have made up my mind to go for an automatic.

The Pajero Sport is almost out of contention because all the ownership stories I hear of people with the old Pajero end with bad service support. The sales guys have been following up with me so patiently and sincerely that I'll feel bad saying no to them. This vehicle certainly appeals to the heart.

I'm still waiting to TD the automatic Rexton which should happen in the coming week. I'm not going with high hopes because after all it's a 'very old' Merc under the skin. Can somebody tell me how's Sangyong as a car maker? Do they make good quality vehicles internationally?

Some of you have suggested the Safari but I'm not looking at it simply because Tata cars are known for their horrible quality. I don't like my cars rattling after a year of use.

Also, I did take a look at the Duster and found it too cramped and it would fit 5 with great difficulty. Whats with the stupid rear seat ac vents in the top spec Duster! The sales executive told me that they are expecting the 4 wheel drive and automatic duster in a couple of months.

Just when I was trying to convince dad about looking at petrol engines, came the Rs 1.50 hike. I'm pretty sure my dad won't agree although the new Crv looks nice. We've had a very good experience with the Honda city we currently have and dealership is owned by the same friend who has the M&M dealership. So that's added comfort.